


Come Away

by MoonlightxStars



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Baby Barry in first chapter because he baby, Codenames, F/M, Fae AU, Gen, M/M, Mentions of Child Loss, More ships to come just too lazy to say which, Slow Burn, Very loosely follows far lore, You know this has magic in it because that's how it b, stolen children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22949224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightxStars/pseuds/MoonlightxStars
Summary: Every child is warned of the wandering magic users in the woods. They'll steal you away when you least expect it and turn you into one of them. Most fear for them, until they come into to town to perform. However, no children are allowed to join in on the festivities that happens once every 45 years.Except, one day, that rule is broken.
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

Mama had told him to stay inside today. He didn’t know for what reason, she didn’t specify why. She expected him to listen to her and obey without any further explanation. For the most part, he listened. He watched her leave the house with their neighbor, communicating in hushed voices and gripping onto each other’s arms as they went into town. He didn’t know why they were going into town and why he wasn’t allowed to venture out. Mama normally let him explore, said that it was good for him to be so curious. He was a proud four years old and liked to explore. He liked to practice counting by watching the ants walk up on the old creaky porch. He’d stick his cheek on it, the wood rough against his cheek and some splinter digging into his flesh. He didn’t mind it. He wished to count. His Mama will tend to his cheek later.

But, he had grown bored of counting. Had exhausted all of the numbers he knew. He could only count to ten so much before he began to grow tired and antsy. Mama had been out all morning and he didn’t know when she’d be back. She hadn’t said when to expect her back by, and he had grown hungry. The porridge he had that morning was only going to satisfy his tummy for so long, and he didn’t feel much like eating another bowl of it. They didn’t have any treats, either. He had checked the barrel that normally housed the sugary goods and they came up empty. He could feel a whine begin to bubble in the back of his throat as he tried to busy himself with something to do. His four year old chores were finished. He had brought in the laundry and even picked up his toys. He brought them out again once he found himself growing with a want of doing something. He exhausted his play time and promptly put them back up again. 

He was tired and wished for Mama to come back. Maybe she had some sweet treats for him and that’s what was keeping her in town for so long. She was carefully deciding which treat he would like the best. He’d honestly eat any treat she gave him with how hungry he was. 

He didn’t want to take a nap. Naps were for babies, and he was not a baby. He was four. Practically a full grown man. He didn’t need a nap. Unlike babies, he could count all the way up to ten, and when he was five, he was probably going to be able to count even higher. Once he was five, he was going to be a full grown man. Everyone had been saying as much.

So, even though he could probably use a nap, he stayed up, feeling his tummy grow more and more angry as it longed for something to eat. 

He splayed out on the warm floor of his house. It was much too hot in the house. Mama had closed all the windows and drawn the curtains in the house. She told him to not leave their property no matter what. He had asked why before and Mama had explained because it was bad if he were to leave their house. He’d asked why again, and Mama sighed and just told him that it just was. Grown-ups were weird. They never explained anything and just assumed that young ones would listen and obey. Maybe that worked for them, but that didn’t work for him. He wanted to know why and it be explained to him. He didn’t like it when people kept things away from him. Eventually, he’d figure out why anyway, and it would leave grown-ups trying to make up bad excuses. He thought that they would understand that about him by now. 

The house was too stuffy anyway. It started to feel how the oven felt when Mama put it on, and he really didn’t like the idea of being baked in the house. It would be cooler outside. Plus, he could probably find Mama and see what was taking her so long in coming home. It wasn’t like her to leave him for a long period of time, but for whatever reason, she decided that he would be left alone from late morning to nearing late afternoon. He knew Mama told him to not leave the house, but he didn’t care. He was hungry and missed Mama. He wanted to go. So, he opened the door and padded across the small porch and headed down the stairs, holding onto the railing as his Mama taught him. The nails on the railing burned his hand just a bit when he grazed his hand over it, but he ignored the pain for the most part, only sniffling a bit and continued down his trek to Mama.

The path was uncharacteristically empty. No one was walking down it today, and all the children were gone as well. It was so quiet that it made him feel a little scared. Where was everyone and why was it so empty? Normally, carriages would be making their way around. He would see the man who delivered milk and sometimes he’d give him a small cup filled with milk. The milkman told him that growing young boys such as he should be drinking extra milk to ensure healthy bones. He’d always accept the milk and drink every last drop of it even though it made his tummy hurt later. If milk also ensured strong bones, then maybe it could also make his tummy grow stronger as well. 

But, the path was clear, and not even the friendly man who gave him more milk wasn’t out. The air was vacant of any children yelling and laughing, and even though he didn’t really play with the children here (they tended to not choose him to play because they found him weird), it still seemed strange to not see any of them. Did their Mamas also lock them up for the day? He looked down the path of the row of similar small houses to his own, seeing that their windows were also closed and their curtains were drawn aggressively closed. 

Maybe it was an adult holiday of a sort and no children were allowed? Well, he wasn’t a child anymore. He was to be five soon and that would make him a man. So, why wasn’t he invited along? Mama didn’t typically keep him away from things, always letting him come along into town with a rule of keeping to her side at all times and to hold her hand when crossing to the other side of the market. It seemed weird as to why she would keep him home with no further explanation than a  _ ‘because I told you so.’ _

So, he turned to the where the town was, kicking the loose rocks in the hard dirt path. The suns were still high in the sky, them seeming to zero in on him and burning the top of his head with their rays. They seemed to be punishing him in a way. He was told to stay inside and here he was disobeying his Mama. The suns must’ve known and now they were punishing him by baking him into the dirt path. He would soon be unrecognizable, just part of the ground. The only thing signifying that he was there were his clothes.

He was being a baby though. He knew that those things didn’t happen. He couldn’t melt, Mama had told him as much. He could feel like he was melting, but he wasn’t really. The suns were only trying to distract him from his mission. He couldn’t let them control what he did. He was going to find his Mama and stick by her side just as she tells him to do when they go into the market together.

He continued kicking rocks, his shirt beginning to stick to his back and his feet beginning to ache from walking. He could feel another whine bubble up from deep within. Maybe she should’ve been patient and stayed home. His tummy yelled at him with hunger which just made him shuffle his feet in an oncoming tantrum. The only thing holding him back was that only babies had tantrums, and he was not a baby. That didn’t stop his nose from starting to get sniffly and his eyes to start watering. He pinched his arm to distract himself from crying and kept pinching to make him forget doing it. He would not see Mama with a puffy face and red cheeks. He would not greet her with blubbering and snot dripping. Gross babies did that. 

So he continued. Noting how empty the dirt path was and how even more trees were taken down from the forest. The birds weren’t even chirping, they seemed to have flown away to form a new home that wouldn’t be destroyed due to more humans coming in to populate their budding town. He felt bad for the birds. It wasn’t their fault that they lived in trees. They were just trying to have a safe home to raise their babies.

As he neared the town, he could start to make out the sound of music. Huh. Normally Mama would bring him into town if there was someone travelling to perform. So why didn’t she bring him this time? Knowing that he was nearing the town, he started to pick up his pace, letting the sound of music lead him. It sounded like a lot of drumming, and he could pick up some voices. It sounded like a whole group instead of just one person which was different from usual. Usually there was only one person and they would get a small crowd as more people shopped around the market. But, as he grew closer and began to see the market, he noticed the big group of adults from his town all gathered around. The markets were closed and everyone seemed entranced by the performers. He couldn’t see his Mama anywhere which made him pinch his skin again to stop from crying. He just wanted Mama there so they could go home and make dinner. 

He made his way over to the group, pushing away how hungry and tired he was. If he could get his Mama then they could both go home. 

He pushed his way through the sweaty grown-ups, noticing how they paid him no mind as they were transfixed by the performers. He gazed at the faces of the grown-ups, testing some of the ladies skirts to see if they were just the right texture of his Mama’s skirts. They never were, which made him whine just a bit. He just wanted Mama back. None of the skirts he tested had the right impression from his hands etched into them. He took a deep breath and held it, forming a bubble with his cheeks. His Mama taught him that technique in case he wanted to scream. It was a good way to not.

When he finally pushed through the standstill grown-ups and to the front of the crowd, he could see what had enchanted them so much. There were people dancing and singing and forming things from out of nowhere. Fire seemed to come from thin air as a woman spun, the flames licking her scandalous short skirt.

The woman was beautiful, he noted. He had seen many beautiful things. The color of the sky was a beautiful shade of blue that complimented his Mama’s hair color. His Mama had a beautiful smile, and even the forest had a strange beauty about it no matter how many trees they continued to chop down. But, this woman, this woman was by far the most beautiful he had ever seen. 

Her long golden hair moved with a certain grace that he had never seen before, watching it follow behind her, her flames careful to not catch a single strand. Her eyes shone brightly like the clear sky. He could see the joy in them as she danced, trusting her feet in different moves that would’ve had him eating dirt. A smile that shined brighter than anything was on her beautiful features, showing off her white teeth. He couldn’t help but be transfixed on only her. Even when a man who looked alarmingly like her came from behind her and started to shift her fire into precious jewels that had the entire audience in awe. He wasn’t paying attention to the glittering jewels, he could only see the woman dancing with fire so elegantly that it left him breathless.

The bubble he had formed was long gone, now he only stared agape as the beautiful woman continued to dance. Watching her as she expertly moved the fire along with her. Her fire didn’t seem dangerous as everyone made fire out to be. He remembered when one of his neighbors' houses caught fire and how panicked everyone was. He remembered the months after how everyone cursed the fire and how his Mama taught him about fire safety and to never work the oven while she was away. 

But this woman–this beautiful woman didn’t seem afraid as everyone in his town did with fire. It looked to be an extension of herself that she wove into a fine art. She formed pictures with her fire before they were turned into jewels and fine silks. Pictures of people who lived in the forest, running away from the destruction of their homes. Running into caravans and travelling. Showing their strange abilities to people as a way to make coin. It didn’t seem that the adults were paying attention to the true meaning behind the pictures, but he was. They were driven out of their homes when the towns were built. In retaliation, they began to steal their children and make them their own. Teaching them how to manipulate the air and replacing one of their own with the family, letting their own child wreak havoc on the town as a way of vengeance.

It scared him. These pictures and symbols, but the grown-ups seemed to not notice them a bit, instead they were more in awe of the man making the jewels and fabrics from the woman’s fire. He inched backward, feeling an icy hand crawl down his back. He turned and only saw the skirt of a woman behind him. 

The dance came to an end and the woman cleared away the fire like it was nothing. She was grinning to the identical man next to her, picking up a red jewel from off the ground and shaking her head at him. She flicked his strange long ear and he stuck his tongue out in annoyance. A man from behind them chastised them both in a language he had never heard before, but the words made him scared. It made his skin crawl and the imaginary hand was now choking him. The woman turned to look back at the crowd, her eyes widening when her eyes met his. She turned back to the man who chastised her and the man and yelled back in the same tongue. Her strange ears flicking erratically. They had an argument back and forth and the audience seemed to stir a bit. A murmuring broke out from the crowd and suddenly a scream.

“Baby!” A cry broke out. He recognized the voice, and suddenly he saw his Mama rushing towards him from the other side of the crowd. The townspeople moved so she could get by easily as she ran to him, her simple brown skirts flying around from the wind that suddenly picked up. Suddenly, he was in his Mama’s arms and she held him close to her chest, cradling him as she rocked him back and forth. “I thought I told you to stay inside today.”

He didn’t realize he started to cry until he noticed how damp Mama’s bodice got from his snot and tears. Maybe the kids were right, maybe he was a baby. 

“I got hungry.” He whimpered into her bodice, gripping onto the fabric with his pudgy hands. Mama shushed him quietly, continuing to rock him back and forth. He felt her give him a kiss on his head, holding him close to her.

“Okay, we can go home.” She whispered to him, shifting him a little bit in her arms as she prepared to stand up. He knew that he was beginning to get a little too heavy for her to pick him up now, but that didn’t stop her. He wrapped his arms around her neck and burrowed his head in the crook of her neck, blocking the sight of the performers from him. He felt someone come up next to them as Mama struggled to get up.

“Here,” a warm voice spoke. Suddenly, he was plucked from his Mama’s arms and he scrambled to get back to her. Mama cried out as she realized who took him away. The smell of wood smoke and gardenias entered his senses and he stared into the eyes of the beautiful woman who spoke in such a strange tongue. 

“Relax, she isn't going to steal him away.” Another voice came, he turned and saw the identical man helping Mama up from her feet. 

“He’s much too old to steal.” He turned back around to look at the beautiful woman, seeing her stare back at him. She smiled tensely at him, her lips careful to hide something away. “A shame since he seems to have had potential.” 

The woman traded him back to Mama once she saw she was up on her feet. Mama took him readily, checking him over for anything that the woman could’ve done to him while he was in her arms for two minutes. The beautiful woman grinned at him, booping him on the nose. He hid his face into Mama’s shoulder shyly. The beautiful woman laughed. 

“Stay for the last song?” She asked. He could begin to feel Mama shake her head no, and words began to bubble from her chest. “I promise it’ll be fine.”

Mama shifted uncomfortably and he looked at her with pleading eyes. The beautiful woman was nice. He wanted to see her dance again. Mama sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t say no to him sometimes, he was her only child and she hated to disappoint him, so she relented. The beautiful woman nodded and went back to the middle of the gathering, ordering the other players around in her strange tongue again. This time, he didn’t feel scared at the words she said, it certain amount of peace flooded through him as the players all lined up.

“For our last piece, our own Miss Phoenix will be leading. Everyone give a round applause for our beautiful bird!” The leader of the group announced. The audience in response let out a tense applause, the murmuring rising. The beautiful woman didn’t seem to take notice of this, instead, she took her spot front and center, the man who was identical to her next to her. The man took her hand and squeezed it and she nodded. She hummed, testing a pitch before she seemed satisfied with it and squeezed the man’s hand back. 

_ “Siuil, siuil, siuil a run _

_ Siuil go sochair agus siuil go ciuin _

_ Siuil go doras agus ealaigh liom” _

The woman’s voice was smooth as honey and he could feel himself being drawn to it. How he wished that she would keep singing, pleaded with her with his eyes and clenched fists. He could feel himself beginning to feel more at peace with himself, a strange sense of familiarity. A distant lullaby that was resurging to the front of his mind. The voice wasn’t as pretty as the woman’s. It was rougher, like it had forgotten how to sing in the first place. Still, the low timbre that the person sang in lulled him to sleep, just as this woman’s voice was doing.

The man next to her picked up the next verse, echoing the achingly familiar words. He didn’t know what they meant, but he was sure he heard them before when he was younger. Mama tightened her grip on him as her breathing hitched. She seemed to know the song, too. 

_ “I wish I was on yonder hill _

_ Tis there I’d sit and cry my fill _

_ Til every tear would turn a mill” _

The woman’s voice was like warm milk and honey. Her words seeped into his mind and her voice warped around his body, relaxing him. There was a longing in her voice, something that he couldn’t pick up on with how tired he suddenly was. He did travel very far from his house to be with Mama. He hadn’t walked that far before without asking Mama to pick him up midway through their journey. He really was grown-up. But, now, he could feel himself catching up with all he had done today. His eyes drooped as the woman’s voice caressed him softly, speaking to his mind that he was indeed so tired and that he needed to sleep. His head drooped onto Mama’s shoulder, letting the woman’s voice lull him to sleep. He dreamt of pretty glossy blonde hair and a bird emerging from ashes.

When he came to, he realized he was at home in his bed. There was a candle lit next to him, offering a reassuring amber glow. Mama knew he was afraid of the dark, and his room didn’t offer much sunlight. His stomach rumbled angrily, demanding that he feed it soon. He frowned and left his hard bed behind, and stumbled to the kitchen rubbing his tired eyes. 

Mama was at the stove, ladling some soup in a wooden bowl. He walked to her side, clutching onto her worn brown skirt and resting his head against her leg. He heard her put the ladle down and scratched his head gently with her nails. 

“Sit at the table and I’ll get you some soup, okay?” She scooted him to his seat at the table and he sleepily stumbled to the table. He clambered onto the chair, his hands and knees burning from the nails. He whimpered in pain and Mama cooed to him as she placed the soup down at the table. 

“Your hands again?” He nodded and held them up. They were red from the nails and small blisters were forming already. Mama sighed as she gave each hand a kiss before turning to the bucket of cool water and dabbing her apron in it. She walked back to him, dabbing his hands gently with her apron. “We’re gonna have to replace these chairs, huh, Baby? And while we do that, we should also replace the nails in the railing.” 

“Why does it hurt?”

“Some people have a sensitivity to specific metals. Your father had the same sensitivity. He was working on replacing everything before passing.” Mama continued to stroke his hands with her apron, his hands already feeling better. Once she was satisfied, she dropped her apron, and caressed his cheek lovingly. “Eat up, lovey.”

So he did. He ate the soup, his tummy finally becoming happy again as he ate. He even asked for seconds and had three slices of bread. Once his tummy was adequately full, he looked to his Mama who had just sat down and sipping her soup carefully.

“Was that woman’s name really Phoenix, Mama?” He asked suddenly. Mama hummed in response and shook her head, setting her bowl down carefully. 

“No, baby. It’s a codename.”

“What’s that?”

“A fake name of sorts.”

“Why is her name fake?”

“To protect herself.” He furrowed his eyebrow at that, playing with the blisters on his hands a bit. His Mama eyed him and opened her mouth to chastise him for picking at them. He stopped before she could tell him, putting his hands in his lap, carefully away from the nails. 

“Why is she protecting herself?”

“So people don’t take advantage of her, honey. It’s just what her people do. They learn someone’s name and then they take advantage of them to do their bidding.” She answered, picking her soup back up and sipping it. 

“How do they do that?”

“They have magic, sweetpea. Their people can garner magic and make it very dangerous to those who can’t.” He had many more questions, but his Mama stopped him by putting her hand up. “Barry, honey, no more questions right now, okay?”

Barry pouted just a bit, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. The nails from the back of the chair scorched into his back, causing him to cry out in pain. Mama was immediately on her feet, assessing his back as he cried. She rocked him, holding onto him tightly and kissed his head as he whimpered in pain. 

They got rid of the chairs and table that week and got new ones whose nails didn’t have iron in them. 

~O~

The caravan was uncomfortably warm with all the bodies lounging around it. Some of them were waving their fans around, trying to get some sort of cooler air circulating around. For some reason they weren’t allowed to open the door for cooler air to come through, something about wandering souls? She couldn’t really remember. 

She was stuck on repair duty. Her brother had somehow busted one of his good shirts and everyone was too exhausted with all of the magic they spent on the performance. They weren’t due in the next town until the end of the week, and they all spent that time recuperating their lost magic. She was sifting through all of the drawers in the caravan, trying to come up with her missing white thread, but to no avail. Between the heat and the magic drain, she was losing her patience just a bit.

“Who moved my thread?” She asked the caravan. She got a mumble of replies, each of them too tired to form any real words. She could feel her anger begin to tick just a bit, between what happened at the performance and with the heat, she was starting to lose it. 

She was told that there wasn’t going to be any children at the show. This town supposedly had a strict rule against any child from coming when they came through. It was so strict that not even women who were heavy with child could come. She was also promised that there would be wards to prevent a child from sneaking in, but somehow, one still managed to slip in. The only reason why she agreed to perform was because no child was supposed to be there. Then, when she saw the child, she knew exactly what the ringmaster was doing. He was trying to tempt the child away from his family. He was much too old to change, but he was perfect to do the dirty work around the caravan, and the fact that she had trusted the ringmaster that much?

A touch broke her out of her destructive thoughts. She breathed in deep as her brother rested his head on her shoulder. 

“He’s fine, Lu. He went home safely thanks to that ward you gave him.” She sighed, feeling reassured on that front. There was no way she was going to let the ringmaster get a hold on him. He was much too young to be separated from his family, and too young to be doing any of their chores. Her brother was the only one to have known about the ward she gave the young boy, she communicated that much to him. For the rest of the time they were in this town, the other caravaners were not allowed to touch the boy.

“I still worry, though. My magic was strained enough when I casted that.” She rested her head on his, halting her search for the time being. “Also, have you seen my white thread?”

“Yeah, made it into gold.”

“Ko!”

“I wanted to practice!”

“Thread is precious, dingus!” She went to hit up upside the head before the door swung open and the ringmaster stood at the entrance, his face red with anger.

“Phoenix, that boy’s here.” Ringmaster had his skinny arms crossed against his chest and his gaunt body was leaning on the doorway of the caravan. She bit the inside of her cheek, digging her nails into the palms of her hand. Why were human children so dumb? She knew that he couldn’t get hurt, but still, to wander out in the dead of night like this? Did human parents teach their young nothing? 

Ringmaster was furious because he found out that he couldn’t persuade the boy to join his caravan or even touch him. He would be able to recognize her magic on the boy, and the fact that she stopped him from kidnapping the child had him even angier. They were supposed to be on the same side after all, why didn’t she just allow him to have at the child? Maybe it was the same reason as to why she and her brother refused to say their true names to any of them. They wanted to remain untethered. If they wished to leave, then they’ll be able to. That’s what they were planning. Save enough money up in order to leave the caravan and start anew. She refused to be forced to stay. 

“Do you know why he’s here?” She was going to keep her voice level. She wasn’t going to let him in on how anxious she really was. 

“No idea.” He replied. She watched as his eyes narrowed at her, and his mouth formed a tight line. “I did take notice how he wasn’t taking my suggestions. Any idea why that is?”

“Of course. He has a ward on him. His parents must be smart.” It wasn’t a lie, per say. Just a stretch of the truth. She felt her brother’s hand on her shoulder and she shook it off, going to the caravan door. “I’ll take care of him, don’t worry yourself bald. You’re going to need the remainder of your hair for the oncoming winter.”

Ringmaster growled at her a bit, but didn’t stop her from leaving the caravan. She made her way down the stairs and moved to the side of the caravan, hearing the leaves crunch underneath her worn boots. Winter was coming along right on schedule. The brisk air was proof of that, and the trees were beginning their yearly shedding. She wrapped her hands around herself to keep from being chilled. How cruel the weather was to be so hot during the day, yet so cold during the evening. 

She saw the boy, he was looking down at his shoes, kicking dirt around. A hand was behind his back and she really couldn’t help the smile that began to form on her lips. If they didn’t cause her so much anxiety, then she’d be lying to herself if she said that kids weren’t cute. She had at one point imagined herself with many children, but those dreams die quickly when you can barely keep your brother and yourself afloat, much less a child. 

“Hello, there.” She greeted, she kept a tight smile on, careful to not show her pointed teeth. Some children scare from them, and she’d rather not scare this precious one away. The young boy snapped up, eyes wide as he gazed up at her. An opened mouth expression painted itself on the boy’s features, his chubby cheeks were bright pink from the cold air. He gave a shy wave to her, shuffling his feet a bit. She laughed good-naturedly as she trusted herself to get closer to the boy. She squatted to his height a good few paces away. The boy had stars in his eyes, like she herself had hung the moon. 

“I picked this for you! It’s from my Mama’s garden!” He brought his hand out from behind his back, presenting her with a pretty red flower. “The smell reminded me of you.”

A red gardenia. How precious. She accepted the gift from his hand, turning it carefully in her fingers before she took in a long sniff from the flower. It was sweet and it tickled the back of her throat. Still, it was innocent enough, and the boy obviously had no idea what the symbols behind flowers were. 

“It’s lovely. Thank you kindly, child.” She tucked the flower behind her ear, reminding herself to get a cup and to fill with water for the precious flower. She wondered how long she’ll keep it alive with magic before she forgot about it. She led a very busy life after all, and couldn’t be reminded of extending her magic out to help a flower.

“My name is–” She placed a hand on the boy’s mouth, shushing him quickly. She looked around, her ears twitching for any sound inside and around the caravan. Her ward was only so strong, after all. If any of the vultures in there learned this boy’s true name, then they’d be after him and he and his future descendants would be bound to them until they said they could leave.

“Hush. You mustn’t be giving your name out to strangers, young one, especially to those who possess magic. It’s quite dangerous.” She explained, watching his large eyes widen curiously. He was about to ask why as all children do. Adorable. “They’ll take advantage of you. You’ll never know freedom again. Your name is precious and for you alone, do you understand that?”

The boy nodded vigorously and she sighed, her shoulders relaxing. 

“It’s also quite dangerous to be wandering the forest so late at night. Come now, I’ll bring you home.” She stood up, careful about how her flower was balancing on her hair and extended her hand to the boy. He readily accepted it, clinging onto her hand like a sort of life line. 

“What does advantage mean?”

“It’s to take control of someone.” She answered. She scanned the forest, ready to take down anyone who tried to take the child and use him for their own personal gain. The ward was only on him for the rest of the week. If anyone knew that much then they’d be staking out until the week was up. Why they would have a stake out for a singular child was beyond her, but they might feel petty that they almost had a child take over their chores until he got away. Anxiety crawled at the back of her throat. She didn’t want him to be in danger. Perhaps if she gave him something to protect him?

“Why do they want to take advantage of someone? Isn’t that not nice?”

“It isn’t nice, but they don’t see it like that. My people didn’t think it was very nice when your people burned our homes down. They see it as a debt repaid.” A sound of leaves crunching caught her attention. She turned her head, tightening her grip on the child in preparation to put him behind her. Her worry was for not as it was only a rabbit.

“Oh...I guess it makes sense to be angry. My neighbor's house burned down before and they blamed the oven.” The child clung to her side, and she’d be lying if she said that she didn’t like it. She felt important to this child somehow. 

“It doesn’t justify their actions, though, dear one. I don’t want you to be giving out your name to strangers, all right? Pick a nickname if you’re unsure about someone and keep yourself protected.” Maybe her protectiveness was coming out because her own Auntie had been indebted to someone. She had given her name to someone she thought she could trust, and they had backstabbed her and ushered her off into a court she didn’t want any part in. She was her and her brother’s last stable home since their parents died, and when she saw her being dragged away, conscripted into something she didn’t want part in. She shivered from it. No one should have their free will taken from them, especially a human who didn’t understand their laws.

“I already have a nickname! My Mama calls me baby, and sweetpea, and honey!” He listed. She couldn’t help but laugh at that. How precious human children were. They had no care in the world it seemed. She wasn’t paying attention to how far her mouth stretched out in her laughter, and the boy stopped suddenly. “You have really big pointy teeth!”

She sobered, staring at the boy with perplexed eyes. She didn’t know how to respond to that. Yes, her teeth were pointy, but big? She thought they were average sized as teeth went. 

“My teeth are small, see!” He opened his mouth, showing off his small teeth. She studied them, noting how his canines were slightly sharper than most human children. 

“Oh, I see. You still have baby teeth. One day your teeth will be bigger, and perhaps even larger than mine.” She pulled the boy along. They really shouldn’t be out so late at night like this. She didn’t know when they’ll start looking for her. She assumed once her brother announced he was making dinner and he needed another person to help him.

The boy huffed, dragging his feet along. He seemed to be having a hard time keeping up with her and she could feel her resolve go down. 

“Would you like to be carried?” The boy shook his head vigorously, his mousy brown hair flying every which way. 

“Nuh-uh, only babies get carried.”

“Well, it seems that you’re still a baby since just this afternoon your mother was carrying you.” And herself, but she didn’t want to rub it in the boy’s face even more. 

“Well, that was in the afternoon! I’ve grown up and I’m no longer baby!”

She shook her head. Children's logic went over her head at this point. It’s been quite a long time since she was once a child and they now eluded her. Perhaps she can ask her brother about their logic since he never grew out of being a child. 

They neared the entrance to the forest, the warm glow of houses breaking the forests bleakness. The windows were still shut and the curtains drawn tightly, but she could make out the shadows of people bustling around their homes, getting ready for bed in preparation of an early start in the morning. There was one house with an older woman on her porch looking out anxiously. The boy, recognizing she was his mother, hollered with laughter as he jumped up and down excitedly, dragging her along to his home. Just at the foot of the stairs, she planted her feet firmly that caused the boy to stop short. 

“Come on, Miss Phoenix Lady! Come inside! I’m sure Mama still has plenty of soup left over!” The boy was smiling wildly at her. Cautiously, she looked at the woman at the porch, seeing her features etched in concern. 

“I believe that it wouldn’t be wise for me to come inside. Go on, and remember what I told you.” She took her hand from his and pushed him slightly to get him moving up the stairs. The boy only pouted and crossed his arms. 

“Why not?”

Why not? Because his mother obviously didn’t want her in her home for obvious reasons. Also, she could tell the railings and stairs reeked with iron, and she really didn’t want to test her luck with that. 

“Your railings and stairs. I’m much too allergic to iron to even attempt to step foot on that.” She answered, backing up a bit to give a respectable amount of space. The boy's eyes lit up at that and hurried over to her. 

“You’re also allergic to iron? Me too! Look, I have blisters from last night’s dinner!” He shoved his hands in her face, but she could only balk at the woman on the porch. As far as she was aware, only her people were affected by iron. Now this child comes out with similar afflictions to iron like her? Who was this child and how did he fly under their radar for so long? 

Well, with how he was going, he wasn’t going to remain much of a secret for long. Not if...her magic was still drained, but maybe just a little bit could be used to help him? She dug into her skirt pocket, looking for anything to use as a ward and only came out with a spool of golden thread. Oh. That’s where her once white thread was. She murmured a small spell to the spool, granting him to be protected for as long as he had it. 

“As thanks for the flower, dear one. Keep this close to you always and don’t be running your true name to just anyone, do you understand?” The boy’s eyes widened as he tentatively grabbed the spool of thread from her. He smiled widely, surprising her with a hug. 

“Thank you, Beautiful Lady!” 

She startled at that. She knew very well that she was beautiful. She could tell by the way men stopped in their tracks just to have another look at her. It was no secret. But, to have this child say it to her? That was different. He let go of her and ran back to his mother, showing his spool of thread off to her, talking about getting a chain so he could wear it around his neck. She made sure he was distracted before slipping back into the forest. Perhaps this would all seem like a dream to him when he was older, and the spool will only serve as a cling to childhood innocence. 

Her trip back to the caravan was uneventful for the most part and she was back within ten minutes. Someone had abandoned the unknown rule of keeping the door closed and it was now propped open to let in the cool air. She was about to enter the caravan again when she was stopped suddenly. 

“Miss Phoenix!” Called an anxiously strangled voice. She turned to the source and saw that it was only Zed, carrying some firewood to stoke the oven’s fire. 

“Yes?” She answered, feeling a headache coming. She had nothing against Zed, but she couldn’t help but be wary of them. They always seemed to be out for something else as soon as her or her brother granted admission into something.

“I was wondering–if it isn’t too much trouble that is–to help Sizzle with dinner tonight? It could be a good night off for you, and I get to learn more about cooking!” They sounded so excited about it, and she really felt bad for them. She didn’t want to burst their bubble that kitchen work was her and her brother’s domain alone. Sure, the two of them let Zed in on doing the dishes and adding some spices here and there, but to let them fully take her spot with cooking with her brother? Yeah, sorry, no. Not gonna happen. 

“Yeah, Sizzle and I already have a rhythm going on in the kitchen already, Zed, and it’s why we were brought on in the first place. Sorry, my dude.” Zed looked so crest-fallen that she felt bad for them. She groaned a bit, hanging onto the railing a bit. “I’ll let you help me with the strawberry shortcakes, how does that sound?”

Zed immediately brightened up at that, nearly dropping their firewood all over the floor. 

“Oh, thank you, Miss Phoenix! I just really want to learn you know, and you and Sizzle seem to know so much about cooking!” They bounded up the caravan stairs, so much excitement running through their body that she was sure they could run a full marathon and still have enough breath left in their body. She huffed a bit as she followed them inside. The inside of the caravan looked relatively the same, except for the baby in the carriage. 

“Who stole the infant?” She asked, bewildered that they had somehow still managed to steal a child without her knowing. The infant was sleeping soundly for the most part. Also, they were supposed to trade a child for a child, and as far as she knew, they didn’t have a child to trade.

“Hatter and Cheshire.” Her brother appeared next to her, handing her apron and putting an elbow on her shoulder. “I told them to put it back since they didn’t leave anything back.”

“Not our fault we have a shortage of infants to trade. Anyway, we did this baby a favor. The parents were going on and on about how they wanted a boy since they already had three daughters. We just plucked her away to help them out a bit.” Cheshire shrugged her shoulders, picking at her pink painted fingernails. 

“It’s still stealing!” She countered. She could feel a migraine coming and she really didn’t want to be here when the mob came and stormed them for stealing an infant. “Has anyone told Ringmaster that we need to go now? They could come at any moment demanding their baby back.”

“Done and done, sweetums. We’re leaving right after dinner.” Hatter looked very comfortable on the couch, not caring all that much about what had just happened. “Nice flower by the way. Where’d you get it from?”

Her hand flew to her flower in her hair and she could feel anger boiling in the pit of her stomach. He was safe as long as he had that spool of thread on him. 

“None of your business.”

“Come now, Nix. Did that kid catch feelings for you? How cute, your own personal servant!”

“Hey, Hatter, I can and will scorch your face right off if you don’t lay off.”

Hatter put his hands in defense and that was the end of that conversation. One of the women from their caravan who had recently lost a baby nursed the tiny human child once she began to whine. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t like the idea of a baby with them. She couldn’t help but feel a certain longing for the child as she watched the woman nurse her. 

Her and her brother were both lying in their shared space, feeling the caravan move over each rock and twig that came its way. 

“That kid's gonna need a codename, you know.” She whispered to him as she snuggled in closer to him. 

“Right, we don’t know the name the family gave her, yeah?” She shook her head, breathing deeply. “That’s good.”

A cry startled both of them and the same woman who nursed the baby scrambled up to care for her. Her brother groaned and put his hand on his ear. 

“That kid sure knows how to dictate people to pay attention to her.” That got her thinking. Dictate. Dictator was a terrible nickname for a baby, but perhaps…

“Director.”

“What?”

“The kids codename. Director. She directs people around to care for her needs, right? Director.” She said, smirking just a bit. 

“Gods, Lu, you’re terrible at naming. Thank gods you never became a mother.” She swatted him for that, tutting her tongue. She knew it was a good nickname for the baby. Not every nickname had to make sense. 

She sighed and stared at the ceiling a bit, a dangerous thought crawling into her mind. 

“Do you ever think we’ll make it out of this place?” She asked suddenly. Her brother hummed in response, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer to him. 

“I dunno. I sure hope so. Maybe we can bring that kid with us.”

Maybe. It’s a thought. 

It’s a thought for around 45 years and her precious flower still looks as fresh as it did when it was given to her years before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2

If her brother dared tried to get on her case over how long she had been gone, she was going to punch him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done the same thing to her, and she always let it go easily after ribbing him for a couple of minutes. After that, they were fine, and they continued as if nothing had happened. After all, they had each other. Sure, she left him with The Director, and sometimes she would get lost in her head while she was drawing and not noticed that they had moved on, but that’s just how it was sometimes. They both knew that they had to watch her and that was that. 

Perhaps it was worth noting that she had been gone for more than a few weeks like she said she was going to be gone for. Maybe it was worth noting that she had been gone for two years, trying to collect as much money as she could in order to get out of the hole they were in. Maybe it was also worth noting that the only reason she was gone for so long was because she couldn’t find where they had gone, after so many years working for The Ringmaster, she thought she knew his patterns just a little bit better. Apparently not.

So, she was gone for two years, yeah, not her intention, and she felt bad for it, but she had also collected just enough money to get them safe transport to their desired location. A whole place dedicated to equal treatment, where humans and fae folk all lived together harmoniously. It sounded too good to be true, she knew that, she also knew that it could just be a trap set up to lure fae into it, but they had to give it a try. Everywhere else they had tried only ended up being for the worse, and they were back in the traveling caravan group just like that each time, forced to sway the adults away from their young and then snatch them. 

She had no idea where the children ended up. Sometimes they kept them to be workers for the caravan, just as The Director was, other times they were sent elsewhere. More than likely to fae courts. The fae felt as though they were justified in their actions. After all, humans could care less for them, putting up laws against them and burning down their homes in an attempt to stop them. Calling them monsters, labelling them as spawns from hell. The works. The fae did see themselves as justified, the humans started this hatred. They were constantly burning down forests for new homes that had no right being there. And, in her eyes, the fae were just trying to stay alive. So much of their history had been burned. She just sort of wished that the children didn’t have to pay the price for their parents. 

Humans always did feel like the fae had the unfair advantage with their gifts in magic. However, it wasn’t the faes fault that they burned any human who showed a hint of magic, calling them witches or singling out that they had fae blood running through their veins. Just for that, humans with fae ancestry were hard to come by. They had practically been all wiped out with the people they thought they could trust. 

Which was why this place promising that humans and fae lived together in harmony sounded so inviting. Apparently to their sources, there were many half fae families and they just lived. There were no courts, which had earned a big thumbs up from Taako, and there were many humans turned fae which The Director was very agreeable on. Now, just getting there was the problem.

The journey there was apparently difficult. The community was hidden away from the rest of the world, which only sounded more promising to her. If it was so hidden, then it would be difficult for the courts and other humans to find them. And if the humans truly knew how arduous the journey was, then what was the point in even going? They would still need a special guide to lead the way. They also needed papers to even set out on this journey, something that she had also spent most of the year gathering. Getting a job was hard enough for fae living amongst humans, but procuring travel documents and legal identification was even more difficult. She and Taako had to go over which names they had to use for The Director, even asking her what she wanted her name to be, finally settling upon the name Lucretia, Creesh to everyone else. They had to be careful and stealthy about this. Technically, their debt hadn’t been paid in full to The Ringmaster, and her spending so much time away from the caravan was certainly not good for Taako. He’d be getting the brunt of her absence from him, but it’ll all end soon. She hoped. 

First, she had to find her brother. The special guide was in the next town over from where her brother said they were in his frantic message to her. Something had apparently gone wrong during one of their shows and now he and the Director were laying low for a while, the Ringmaster suspicious as to where they were. He was a clever man, and he would know that Taako was waiting for her, no doubt waiting for the both of them to be together again for him to make his move. Who knows what he’ll do to them. She didn’t even know what Taako had done to warrant him to go into hiding. He hadn’t told her in his message. It had to be something big though since his voice sounded so hushed and frantic. 

She shifted the pack on her back just a bit. It held some clothes that she had collected during the two years and of course their papers to be granted access safe passage. Maybe it was just in her head, but she felt that the papers weighed more than 100 pounds. They held so much promise and so much importance. A better life with her brother and her dear sister, better opportunities for them away from the eyes of regular human life and fae courts in their entirety. No more will they live in constant fear of their true names being found out and being sent to live in the courts where they would have to wait on higher fae.

Taako had told her just about where he was, just discreet enough to not give away his whole location in case of wandering ears. Just little clues and code words that only she and him would understand. He was hidden deep in the forest where the mountains were high enough. She knew the location well enough as vague as where the mountains were high enough. The rest was on her to find out where he was. It sounded harder than it was. Her brother tended to leave clues to her that only she would understand and what others would only see as strange litter. 

She picked up the strange trail, ensuring that no one else would see it. In case someone did try to follow it, she didn’t want it leading back to them. 

The leaves crushed under her soft leather boots, they had been newer just a few months ago, but after months of them being the main pair of footwear for her, they had started to wear down much more quickly than the rest. Maybe it was because she didn’t really wear shoes prior to leaving the caravan for hopes of securing the papers. She had to adapt to restricting her feet when she was in more polite society to attempt to hide her true identity. If one person were to find out her true origins, she wouldn’t have been able to secure any sort of work in the town, and the payment for the papers wouldn’t have been procured. 

They even had to decide on new names in case they lost the papers and fae had picked them up. They had to be careful for what they were doing, and that included in having names be changed. The two of them hadn’t been too creative about it, Taako begrudgingly settling on Justin and Lup taking on Justinia. It was easy to remember. No one had thought any differently. The man making out the papers didn’t raise his eyebrows at the names, he just took the money and wrote out the valid papers and stamped his seal of approval. Apparently not too many fae thought of to get papers, instead concealing to the shadows and hoping no one noticed. That was something they had thought of doing, but The Directors magic was too unpredictable. She barely used it since she couldn’t really master it as well, it probably had to do with her human background. Their once human children weren’t really permitted to use their magic in the caravan since it was too wild most of the time, who knows if it was any different in court. 

She trudged on nevertheless, looking over her shoulder every so often to make sure no one was following her. In case someone was, she made sure to take a wrong turn to get them turned around, and then slinking off to the right way. She couldn’t risk anything. Not when they were so close to refuge and away from the life that they had dug for themselves. Not that they had much of a choice to begin with, though. It was either the courts or the travelling business. No one else would hire fae for work unless they disguised themselves well enough, and that took too much magic and energy to keep up accurately for a long period of time. Even doing it for two years like she did exhausted her to no end. Especially with how many jobs she forced on herself to ensure she would be able to get the money quickly. It would’ve been helpful to have Taako around so they could switch off every other day, but they couldn’t leave The Director alone with the caravan. Who knows what they’d do with her if she and Taako just up and left without her. They could take advantage of her and sell her to one of the courts and they’d probably never see her again. They were the only ones keeping her safe from the wrath of The Ringmaster. He was still furious with the both of them that they had taken her under their wing in the first place. No, she wouldn’t be going to the courts, and she wouldn’t be signing a contract with The Ringmaster, no matter what. 

He had been waiting for years for the right moment to take her away from them and they weren’t going to let him have her. She was their sister and no one was going to come between them. They would have to be killed first. Which was probably why Taako had sounded so panicked. Even though they had tried to be secretive about their plans, someone must have found out and told. Ringmaster might have a bounty on them, which was pretty troublesome. If there was a bounty, then they’d have to think of a way to travel discreetly, which could prolong their time of getting to their destination. If such a place actually existed in the first place.

Perhaps The Ringmaster will assume that she had died in the two years that she was gone. It was possible. Fae left their caravans all the time only to never come back. It’s happened a lot over the years. He hadn’t sent anyone after her, which was slightly reassuring. He had Taako still, and he was the one who brought in the most crowd now. The use of fire in their show was extremely limited and her presence as a whole was now really behind the scenes. She believed it was part of her punishment for helping out that child all those years earlier. For whatever reason, The Ringmaster really wanted him even though he was much too old for them to have. He blamed her ever since the child’s trail disappeared without a trace. 

Huh. She had barely thought of that child for at least a few years now. Every so often she’d have the stray thought of how he was. Whether or not he thought of that day, or if his human brain muddled it and made him believe it was just a dream. He was rather young when it had all happened. She could never really gage human years all that well. The Director had been a small child, she had appeared two even though she was five. It was probably the faerie magic that had begun to slow down her aging as it affects all human children if they were introduced at just the right window of time. 

How would that child be by now? Time had no relevance to fae, at least not as much as it did for humans. Their lives were so fleeting. They were so unlike fae. Their lives were a small blimp in history, but unlike most fae, they prioritized the importance of familial relationships. The only way for their lives to continue throughout was through their families. Maybe that’s why there were so many of them. They have as many children as possible in order to be immortalized. That child most likely had grown up and married. He was probably even a grandfather right now since they tended to have their children so young. Huh. She wondered how many he had. Maybe around twelve. The poor wife he must have married. She really shouldn’t be thinking too much of that child. It had happened so long ago that he was no longer a child and now most likely nearing the end of his life. How long ago was that? Maybe around 45 years? Her pack suddenly felt heavy, remembering what she had packed in it before she had left.

It was ridiculous, really. She didn’t know why she kept it for so long in the first place. It was a childish gift, something she should’ve discarded right before she entered the caravan that night. Still, something had stopped her that night for whatever reason and she kept it. She kept it alive for 45 years with her magic even though it should have long withered away by now. Now it was in a protective casing in her bag. A good luck token she reasoned with herself. It was bound to have some luck in it. Human children were already strange enough, but she must admit that the child she had met that day was the most peculiar of them all. She had never met another child like him. The children she had come across in the last two years normally clung to their mother’s skirts nervously, shaking their heads and hiding whenever their mother’s would tell them to say hello to her. It was probably for the best. Children tended to be more perceptive and sensitive to magic than adults. The poor child probably sensed something coming from her, perhaps even saw through her disguise and saw her pointy teeth as she smiled at them. She wouldn’t do anything to the child of course, if they were out of town they were normally too old at that point. Beyond the age of four, children were useless to fae. They were becoming less perceptive of magic at that point and too difficult to change. Three was a stretch too, but most of the time they were able to do something with it. Two and under were the best for fae. They could easily forget their human life at those ages and absorbed magic like a sponge. It really was the best of ages.

Usually though, those children were at home with the older kids watching them or a trusted neighbor. Only children of a specific age were allowed in markets, and even though the humans knew they didn’t take after the age of three, they still had their reservations about them. Made sense she assumed. They didn’t want to take any chances with them. 

By the age of seven, children tended to be blind to magic just as their adult counterparts were. There was the odd occurrence when they could sense it every so often, something in the corner of their eye mostly, and they’d turn their heads around quickly to see the shadow they had seen. By their teenage years, they were completely blinded from magic. Easy to deceive into thinking she was completely human but warping her ears to appear rounded instead of pointed, and her teeth less sharp. She kept her canines sharp, though, it was purely for vanity at that point though. 

The calls of birds caught her ear, making them perk up at their song. No. Not birds. It was slightly different from a bird's vocalization. It wasn’t as sharp and precise as birds. The voice had more air in it and the chirps were done lazily and didn’t follow through with the next trill as well. There was no quickness in it that would tell her it was an actual bird. To a human they would declare it as a bird and leave it alone, but to her who has spent years listening to birds and their calls along with another particular person, she couldn’t help but be ashamed of this half attempt at a bird’s call. He could’ve been a little more convincing she thought. Maybe he could’ve picked a bird that was actually local to these parts. 

She quickly sent a calling back, a clear way to tell him she was on her way and nearby. That she had heard his sorry attempt at a call and she was going to berate him later for it once they were for sure safe enough for ribbing. She knew that they were in danger, knew that they couldn’t waste anymore time in this spot. It was too dangerous now, but she couldn’t help wanting to take a few moments to catch up with her dear brother and sister, take a break from traveling for a day and just be with her most favorite people. 

She couldn’t help her feet as they quickened her pace to the call. She was so close to them. She hadn’t seen them in two years and now they were so close. She wasn’t going to be alone anymore. She was going to be with her family once more and they were going to find safety away from all of this. Sure, they were walking out of their contracts, but she didn’t care anymore. Those contracts weren’t going to be up for another eighteen years, and she couldn’t spend another day in that caravan. They had to be away from them before they coerced the Director to sign her own contract. Especially since she was nearing the age where they would want her to sign one. It wasn’t going to happen. Not on her nor her brother’s watch. 

The pure anticipation of being nearby her loved ones again over took her as another call was sent out to her. This one was sharper and more precise at disguising their voice as though they were a bird. This voice obviously took care in knowing what kind of birds were common in these parts of the woods than the other. This voice knew about discretion and had taken their teaching seriously. Unlike another one she knew. 

She took another cautionary look over her shoulders, making sure there wasn’t any tracking magic around her, nor any shadows ready to strike once they were all reunited with one another. These forests weren’t typically occupied by human hunters to begin with. Not a lot game in these parts. The occasional rabbit could be seen every so often, but that was basically it. Besides, most humans were nervous about these parts anyway. It wasn’t close to any courts, but too many fae parked their caravans here and practiced their magic. They hadn’t gotten brave enough to encroach on the lands, but she was sure it was only a matter of time now until a sturdy young man built a house here and thus bringing the rest of his friends to build. It was exhausting to keep finding new places that felt safe for them, but it was what they had to do to survive. 

Her heart sped up in her chest as her excitement mounted to a whole new threshold. They barely had any communication since their separation two years ago. She couldn’t help the smile that was blooming on her face at the very idea of seeing her dear family again. Her hands were vibrating from the pure excitement of the fact that finally she would no longer be separated from them, nor have that fear hold over her that they would potentially be ripped away from her. That is of course if everything went according to plan. 

There was a fallen tree just in front of her, green moss already covering some of the trunk. The tree had probably fallen years ago with the state it was in, with the wood rotting and already looking hollowed out. Mushrooms were springing from on top of the moss, and just beyond that was a small peek of golden blonde hair. Her brother was one of the smartest people that she knew, but sometimes he was so oblivious to the idea of stealth that it gave her agita. Who knows why he was allowing such a thing to peek out for anyone to see, especially if they knew the both of them well enough. 

She walked the remaining distance to her brother, feeling her heart race with every step that she took closer to her family. It had been way too long since she had last seen them all. She and Taako had never spent so long apart from one another that it had been hard for her for the last two years without him. It was such an adjustment for her, no one to help her out in the kitchen when she was cooking, no one to banter with into the wee hours of the morning. It had been so difficult without her other half just there at her hip. But now, it was fine, he was just a few more paces in front of her, they were back together and everything was better again. They were going to escape this life and go elsewhere and never have to worry about anything ever again. 

She flicked the top of his head, earning a very disgruntled yelp from him as his hands flew up to his head and he turned around like an offended cat. Eyes were narrowed severely and his mouth was in a mid yell. He stopped as soon as he saw her face, however. She hadn’t been expecting that, she had been expecting him to whine at her until she hopped over the trunk and snuggled in close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Finally whole again. 

Instead, he was just looking at her, studying her face as though so much had changed in her appearance since their separation two years prior. She didn’t know what he was looking at, but his own appearance caught her off guard. It was different. His hair was cut crudely short for whatever reason, some hair was still long in areas from the rushed job it had appeared to be. His cheeks were more hollowed as though he hadn’t been eating properly. Worry began to swirl in her stomach at that, why hadn’t he been eating? There was a town just close by, why didn’t he have enough money to eat? He had serious bags under his eyes, dragging his eyes down making him look like he was about to collapse at any moment. Had he also not been trancing as well, either? What has happened during the last two years? This wasn’t the Taako that she knew and loved so very much. 

She was in panic mode as she immediately jumped over the trunk of the tree and crouched down to his level, putting her hands on his dirtied face, checking it out for any bruises or wounds. There seemed to be a thin gash that started from his right ear to his chin that was still trying to heal over properly. Her eyes were wide in alarm and she opened her mouth to speak to begin questioning him what had happened. He rose a hand up to stop her from speaking, putting his finger to his lips as he looked warily around. 

His ears were pointed straight up, straining to hear anything out of the ordinary in the forest, eyes narrowed in deep thought. Once it had passed his inspection, he chirped out a few signals which she could only guess was to The Director. A call was chirped back to his call and some steps started to approach them cautiously. 

The Director came up to them, stepping carefully to avoid any sticks on the ground to try to make as little noise as possible. Looking at her, Lup could see what had changed throughout the two years. She had seemed slightly older from the last time that she had seen her, she was beginning to lose a lot of her baby face after years of retaining it, her cheek bones were more prominent now and her jawline sharper. Her eyes were just as wide as ever though with great wonder and intelligence. Eyes that looked like they could see right through the entire world and discover all of its secrets. 

Once she saw her though, The Director’s face broke out into a huge smile that lit up her entire face. She pulled her cloak closer to her body, and made sure her hood covered her shock of white hair so as to not to draw attention as she rushed over to her. 

She collapsed in front of her, her pants scraping against the forest floor, staining them with dirt and leaves. Lup made a mental note that she would have to clean them soon so the stains didn’t settle into the fabric. 

The Director took her hands into hers, holding them closer to her as she scanned her face, her face bright and cheery. She was absolutely vibrating with joy as she took her into her arms and gave her the biggest hug she had ever given Lup. It had caught her off-guard for a moment before she returned the hug with the same ferocity. The Director was normally more reserved and suited more to the shadows where she hung back and observed everyone. She didn’t really show much of her emotions beyond a reserved smile every so often. It was probably better that she did that, for her own safety and protection. Growing up in the caravan, you would never know who would use your words against you, especially words against a stolen child.

Here though, more of The Director’s true personality was coming through a bit more. Away from the caravan was good for her, and it even more imperative that she was in an environment that was more welcoming to her. If it was one thing both fae and humans agreed on, it was that the once human child turned fae was looked at as an outcast. They didn’t belong anywhere in the system. Humans were too afraid of the sort of magic they had learned, especially since most of them didn’t have control over their magic. Fae viewed them as inferior, their magic nowhere near as powerful as theirs. The only good thing about them was the free labor they could get from them. 

The Director would never be that, though, not if Lup and Taako could help it. She deserved somewhere better. Away from the prejudice of the fae and fear of the humans. It’s what she deserved. 

“I’ve missed you,” she murmured softly into her ear, squeezing her again with a hug. Lup smiled, pressing a kiss to her sister’s cheek. She squeezed her back before pulling away and patting her cheek affectionately as she studied her face. The Director definitely had blossomed from her time away from the caravan. It seemed that most of the stress of trying to hide away was now released from her shoulders. She was sure that she would always have the stress due to the years of being in the caravan which Lup feels guilty over. Really, they should’ve grabbed her when she was a baby and ran when they had the chance. Then again, they didn’t have anything acclimated yet. With years of staying with the caravan and hiding whatever coin they could, they managed to save up for their new life. 

“I’ve missed you, too, dear.” She patted her cheek a little bit before she turned to Taako who was looking at them with a tired expression on his face. Honestly, he looked as though he was about to topple over at any moment which worried her. She hadn’t seen him like this since their aunt had been taken away by the courts and they were out on the road alone. She pinched her eyebrows together and shuffled over to him and placed a hand on his arm. Something had happened, she knew that. She needed to get to the bottom of this once and for all. “Ko, babe, what happened?” 

Taako inhaled sharply, pursing his lips together tightly, making it seem he was trying to sew his mouth shut so he would never tell what had happened. She shook his arm a little bit, trying to tell him with her eyes that he could trust her as per usual. They were in this together always and forever. No matter where life took them, they would always have one another. 

Still, he didn’t budge with talking which worried her. She took a deep breath to calm herself down a little bit as her stomach began to once again swirl with pure worry and misery for her brother. It must be bad if he was refusing to talk to her about this which only caused more anxiety over what it could possibly be. She thought about what way he would speak to her and to tell her exactly the information she needed. She focused on her brother, pinching her eyebrows together again, and pursing her lips. 

_ “Would you prefer this method?”  _ She asked him. Mind communication was better for privacy. It was harder to eavesdrop on a mind communication unless the two people communicating were close to the eavesdropper. It really was the only way to ensure some sort of privacy between strangers, The Director could join in if she wanted to since she knew them so well and knew the methods that they did in order to communicate. However, it didn’t seem that she had any interest in eavesdropping, instead she just shuffled closer to Lup and rested her head in her lap. Lup smiled softly, pushing down her hood and stroked her hair comfortingly as The Director snuggled in closer to her. It reminded her of when she used to do this as a toddler, curling up in her lap and falling asleep right there. 

_ “Yeah,” _ he told her meekly. Something wasn’t sitting right with him and she could feel her heart breaking. She took his hand into hers, and it lifted some of her spirits to feel that he took her hand tightly into his. Still, there was a little bit of apprehensiveness swirling through her as he clung to her hand like she was the only one keeping him all together right here right now. He looked at her in the eyes, swallowing thickly as he took a deep breath and moving his shoulders back to sit up straighter.  _ “We have to split up again.” _

Lup almost screamed out loud. Split up again? No, no, no. She had just gotten her family back. Like hell they were going to split up again and be separated again for who knows how long. She was shaking her head at him, holding onto his hand tightly. 

_ “We just got back together! We can’t just separate now. Look, I got all the paperwork squared away and all we need to do is go to that town with the guide and we’ll be golden!” _ She moved to grab her pack, removing the hand that was stroking The Director’s hair. She stirred slightly as she nuzzled closer to her. Taako took her hand and held it, shaking his head. 

_ “There’s a bounty on us, Lu. I….I did  _ something _ and the Ringmaster is pissed. They’re after three people. At least if we’re split up we can all be safe and be undercover.”  _ He explained. She didn’t like it. The bounty on all of their heads, this thing that Taako did….what could be so bad that The Ringmaster put a bounty on them? It wasn’t like he sent out bounties on everyone who escaped the caravan. Only people who could jeopardize his business. 

_ “Wha-Taako what did you do?” _

She didn’t mean for it to sound so judgemental about it. This was her brother she was talking to and now she was judging him? It probably wasn’t even his fault if she thought she knew her brother so well. The Ringmaster might’ve just sent out the bounty because he was missing out on his best money maker. Taako’s cooking show got so many people around to the caravan, all of them feasting on his cooking, suddenly abandoning all their worry on the fae. Maybe it was probably because the caravan disguised themselves as humans and tried to establish a trust. Maybe it was that. But Taako didn’t take advantage of them. He just cooked and served his food with flourish and people loved him for it. It was really entertaining to watch him cook the way he did. He would always bring her up for the round of desserts and her go to was something that involved fire. It amazed the audience, especially since none of them could figure out how she managed to do that with such a small match. 

Taako just shook his head as he took his hands away from her, holding his head in his hands as he curled up in front of her. Alarm shook her to her very core as she immediately shuffled closer to him, trying to not jostle the girl sleeping in her lap too much and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. 

_ “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” _ She soothed, tucking in a strand of too long hair behind his ear.  _ “If you want, I can cut the rest of this off evenly. I got some scissors in my pack” _

He nodded, his body was trembling under her arm and she could just feel her heart breaking even more. Her brother was absolutely terrified over what had happened. Even though she wished she knew what he had done, she knew that she shouldn’t push him too much. If she pushed too hard then he would just close in on himself and stop talking. He’ll tell her in due time. All she had to be was patient. She could be patient, he was her heart, and he was his. That’s all she needed to know. She just had to trust him in all of this. 

She shuffled into her pack, searching for her scissors as Taako turned his back to her, knees pulled up to his chest. She gripped the scissors into her hand, pulling it out and moving closer to him. She rubs his back a little bit before moving up to his hair and smoothing it down before snipping away the precious gold locks that he worked so hard on keeping neat and beautiful. She wondered what happened. Maybe they were looking for a fae man with perfect long blonde hair. He probably did it in an attempt to be unrecognizable. 

She continued to snip his hair as Taako began to tremble and cry. Her heart started to break hearing it even more. What had happened during the two years? She knew this was her fault. If she just took all of them with her then whatever Taako went through wouldn’t have happened. However, who knows what would’ve happened. It was hard enough to go into a human town as a fae undetected, especially with a changed human who had no idea how to control her magic. Things could happen and then that would’ve been their next fault. 

Whatever happened, she was going to trust him no matter what. They were all in this together. Ever since day one they were in it together. No matter what. 

_ “What do we do?”  _ She asked him as she carefully snipped the hair. She watched as the locks of hair snipped away down his back and felt a little sorrowful. They had both tried to keep their hair long for many reasons, but seeing it all get snipped away like this due to some sort of break made her feel all the worse. She should’ve been there for him when he went through whatever he did. If they were so in this together, then she should’ve been there for that. Now they were going to be separated again because The Ringmaster wanted them so desperately. It just wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t he just treat them the way he treated some of the other escapees? 

_ “You go to town to get the guide all situated. Wait one to two days so me and The Director here can slip in undetected. We’ll follow behind you. Just leave a trail we can follow in case we lose sight.” _ He explained. She assumed he didn’t use his actual voice because he was afraid it would betray him in some way. His voice would crack and he would break down in front of her just like that. He hated appearing too vulnerable, even around her even though he knew that he could trust her. At least using mind communication he could make his voice sound as calm as possible as long as he focused on it appropriately. It was a lot easier to focus on mind voice than physical voice, she’ll give him that. 

She nodded, continuing to snip and making sure none of the hair fell on The Director’s head. 

_ “We should probably start calling her Creesh, don’t you think? Lucretia around us only obviously. Can’t be too careful.” _

_ “Yeah, I guess.” _

They didn’t talk for the rest of the time spent together. 

XXX

If he got one more file of paperwork to file away, he was sure as hell gonna lose it all and toss it out the window. At this point, nothing mattered, everything was an annoyance to him, and he had once again gotten forged papers. Normally, he had no problem just accepting the forged papers because the poor people were obviously desperate to get out, but his boss had caught on to what he was doing and threatened to take away his special assignment. The look on the poor peoples face when he had to write an ugly  _ FORGED _ all over their paperwork….gods he was never going to let that image out of his head. 

He had acquired this job because he had wanted to stay in the town that he had grown up with. Close to his Ma so he could take care of her whenever she needed him. However, he had gotten restless. After years of spending time in the big city being as the locals here would just roll their eyes and mutter something about him being a fancy scientist or whatever, he had missed the hustle and bustle. Missed the experiments he would partake in. Mostly, he missed it when everyone was on his level of intellect. He also missed no one asking him when he would just get married already. Now that was something he could do without any day of the week. 

He groaned heavily as he sat back in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face. He only got this job to be closer to Ma, right. Hauling back and forth from the city was no longer an option, especially since he could only stay in town for a couple of hours before having to go back to go to work the next day. Sure, he left behind his job as a scientist and he’ll no longer be helping the world with moving forward and breaking out of the old ways. It didn’t matter all that much to him anymore, not with how Ma’s health had been declining in the more recent years. It was better that he stay here. Also, it wasn’t like he was guiding anyone. He was mostly doing paperwork for other guides. No, his assignment was for the optimists, a foolhardy dream that his boss had laughed at when he gave it to him. Everyone had always thought that he was weird, so they gave him the most useless assignment that no one ever paid for. At least that kept him in town for Ma. 

The last person who had been assigned to his position had retired after 35 years of working it. It was tough work, especially when rumors of such a utopia started popping up more and more which only brought in more traction and more forged papers. When he had been hired, the man took out a map and showed him the path to take and where the place was around. He wasn’t led to believe that it was real or not. The man retired and had left without a trace. No one knew where he went nor did they really know where he came from. He was here for 35 years and then when Barry needed a job from moving back, apparently the man had singled him out. Who really knows why, maybe he was just a cooky old man that wanted him to get out more since he obviously spent most of his adult life in the lab. 

It was getting late, the sun beginning to set and he could see beyond his small window that people were starting to go back to their homes for the night. He wished that he were them. Going home and settling down for the night, but no, he was still on the clock until later that evening. Most people who would request for his services came to him in the shadows and in hushed voices. There was no telling if their papers were accurate, most of the time they weren’t, so he never really went on this guide. Still, he knew how to get there as long as there was a map in front of his face. He hoped. Not likely that it would actually happen though. Especially since his boss was trying to get rid of the fae guide. It was bad for business, he said. No one trusted his guides because they were labeled as fae sympathizers. Gods, what a mess. Maybe that’s why the utopia was so appealing. 

He put his head down on his desk. A short nap wouldn’t be looked down upon. He was the only one here, everyone else was out on assignment or they were home for the evening. There was no one to berate him for sleeping on the job. It wasn’t like he was going to get a lot of people in anyway. The last people with the forged papers had been two weeks ago now. No one came to his department unless they were absolutely desperate. So, he rested his head on his desk, not really looking the most professional. Who was going to see him, though? Absolutely no one since his department was essentially useless.

He must’ve been more tired than he had initially thought because as soon as he rested his head down and closed his eyes, he was out. 

He was having the same dream that he has had since he was little. Beautiful fire dancing around him making shapes of destruction and beauty. A beautiful woman with a kind smile and pointy teeth. A warning in his head not to tell anyone his name no matter how much he trusted them, a red flower and golden thread. He has had this dream for so long, something that he had concocted in his head as a distant dream that wouldn’t leave him alone. Still, seeing this dream so routinely brought a strange comfort to him. Warmed him like the fire that made strange shapes. 

It was probably that he had just dreamed when he was younger. Probably saw a fire and a pretty woman at some point and just put them both together. The spool of gold thread was just a gift from his Ma that he wore around his neck. He just concocted the woman and how she gave him the thread and he left it at that. 

He didn’t know how long he was out, only that he had been dreaming of long blonde hair and warm skin when he heard two hands whack his desk. He startled, jerking his head up with such force that he nearly fell over in his chair as he saw a blur of yellow in front of him. Aw fuck, where was his glasses?

“Missing these?” The person asked, he could feel something in the back of his mind starting to click together a little. It was a recognizable voice but where had he heard it before? Warm hands pressed into his, passing along his missing glasses. 

“Yeah, thanks.” He shoved him on his face, now looking at the person who had disturbed him from sleep. He felt his heart lurch into his throat as he saw who it was. She was distinct, very clearly the woman from his dreams, no older than how she presented herself in said dream. Her long blonde hair was loose which startled him just slightly. It was so uncommon for women to leave their hair free like that. Usually for unmarried women and young girls, it was braided back to keep out of their faces while for older or married women it was pulled back in a bun. Though, it had been more common in the city for women to wear their hair loose, so it could’ve been that she was from the city. It was all the rage when he was last there just a few years prior. Something about freedom to do what they wished with their hair. He could see why it was so appealing, braiding hair every day and or putting it up seemed like a hassle.

Her skin was warm with golden freckles dotting her face and shoulders, just as the woman in his dreams had. She was just as beautiful as she was in the dream, but the features that his mind had fuzzed over began slotting into place in the dream woman’s features. 

“Dream woman!” He had no control over his mouth and when that had come out of his mouth, he could start feeling his face heat up with embarrassment as the woman looked over him quizzically over his outburst. His hands flew to his mouth as he stared at this beautiful woman with wide eyes. She smirked at him and crossed her arms as she shook her head. 

“Huh, okay, don’t hear that everyday.” He just wanted to die from embarrassment right then and there. Maybe his boss will see how useless this position was and not hire anyone else. That would be nice, he was the last of the guides for this foolhardy dream. Gods dammit why did he say that? 

He tried to get out of his stupor, shaking his head as he pushed himself forward to get back to business. She was probably just lost and needed some directions to the nearest inn. No way in hell was someone coming here to ask him about any sort of guide. He cleared his throat as he put his hands on his desk and straightened his back just a bit to look a little more professional. The woman looked like she was trying so hard to hold back her laughter as he tried his best to compose himself. 

“Sorry about that,” he cleared his throat again, more as a nervous tick than the actual need. He tried to avoid eye contact with the woman to avoid any more embarrassment. “I uh….how can I help you Miss…?”

The woman smirked at, leaning onto his desk so he would have to look at her. Gods, she was teasing him and he could start feeling the sweat begin to acclimate from the nervousness. She wasn’t going to let him live will she? Gods he made such a mistake, why did he have to blurt that out? Why couldn’t he just be normal?

“Justinia,” she had a tone in her voice that he couldn’t quite place, almost like the answer was forced in a way. “Are you Bluejeans?”

He quickly nodded, afraid to use his voice out of fear that his voice would crack on his answer. That was the last thing that he wanted. To embarrass himself even more? Gods no. The woman smiled, revealing more rounded teeth that he hadn’t been expecting. Huh, she must’ve only resembled the woman from his dreams very slightly. 

However, as he looked at her more, he could start to see where her teeth started to grow just slightly, forming sharper canines than before. His eyes went wide as she went into her pack and presented papers for three people. 

“Perfect. I request safe passage to the fae-human colony.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter 2 after months of not posting! So sorry it took so long, I was just really trying to get back into the swing of things! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the kudos and comments on the last chapter, ahhh, I'm so excited to really start this au once and for all, and I'm also super excited to see where it'll go!
> 
> If you want to read more of my work, I have a vampire au that I will also be working on in tandem to this au, just a little thing to flip flop between just in case I get writer's block with the other!
> 
> Please take care of yourselves and I can't wait to see y'all next time!
> 
> Plugins:  
> Tumblr: MoonSympathizer

**Author's Note:**

> Holo! Welcome to this fic that I really just made because I love fae and wanted to do something with Barry and Lup with it! Things are weird right now, we get that. What's the up with Barry? We love him. 
> 
> If you wish to talk to me at all you can reach me through:  
> Discord: MoonlightxStars#1556  
> Tumblr: @MoonlightxStars  
> Twitter: @MoonSympathizer
> 
> I don't have a set update schedule yet, but once I do, I'll get this ball rolling!  
> Thank you for reading and I can't wait to write this fic!!


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